Conn. home, condo sales down 30%

BOSTON – Both single-family home and condominium sales in Connecticut fell by greater than 30 percent in January, according to statistics released last week by The Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate data tracker.
Statewide, sales fell to 1,057 single-family homes from 1,654 in January 2008 – a 36.09 percent drop. In New London and Windham counties, both of which border Rhode Island, sales fell by 34.27 percent and 27.12 percent, respectively.
The median price of a single-family home in Connecticut was $223,000, a 17.10 percent drop from the year-ago price of $269,000.
“These numbers are dramatic and disturbing,” CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. said in a statement. “Rather than seeing some kind of moderation in the housing decline, it appears to be picking up steam. What this indicates is that while housing problems may have started the financial meltdown, the financial meltdown is not prolonging the housing problems.”
Condo sales fell by 40 percent in January, dropping to 354 from 588 in January 2008 – the lowest level in since the 338 sales recorded for February 1993 – The Warren Group reported.
Condo prices fell only 2.4 percent, to $188,000 from $183,500.
The Warren Group Inc. is a provider of New England real estate data and the publisher of Banker & Tradesman and other journals. Additional information is available at www.thewarrengroup.com.